Learn, Relax and Enjoy - 15

A
blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a
sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few
coins in the hat.

A
man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into
the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put
the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon
the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed
my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The
man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different
way."

What
he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Do
you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of
course both signs told people the boy was blind.

But
the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The
second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but
the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second
sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be
surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral : 1. Be thankful for what you have.

2. Be creative. Be innovative. Think
differently and positively.

native (adjective): belonging to a place by
birth, indigenous

Turkeys are native to North America.

nascent (adjective): just born

The nascent kittens curled up with their mother.

pregnant (adjective): having a child
developing in the womb, "with child"

Linda's dog is pregnant and it will have its puppies in
November.

naive (adjective): lack of experience, not
knowledgeable of the world

When Olivia went to New York ten year's ago she was naive,
but now she is a well-seasoned traveler.

nominate (verb): to name for office

Vittorio nominated Mary for class president.

synonym (noun): a word with a similar meaning
to another word in the same language

The word "fair" is a synonym for the word
"just."

novelty (noun): something new

After six months the novelty of Pierre's new car is
starting to wear off.

novice(noun): a newcomer, a
beginner, someone new to something

Bjorn is a novice when it comes to playing poker or other
card games.

operate (verb): to work, to perform

People are advised not to operate heavy machinery after
drinking alcohol.

opus (noun): a musical composition

Vivaldi's opus number three is not as well known as is
other compositions.

9)How
can you write the phrase "grade A" so that it has a different meaning
but sounds the same? (gray day)

10)How
can you write the phrase "iced ink" so that it has a different
meaning but sounds the same? (I stink)

11)End
this common idiom: "As busy as... (a bee)

12)What
is the pole that holds up a flag called? (flagpole)

13)How
do you say "not qualified" in one word? (disqualified)

14)Who
holds the microphone during a ceremony? (the MC; Master of Ceremonies)

15)How
do you say "not fair" in one word? (unfair)

16)How
can you write the phrase "that stuff" so that it has a different
meaning but sounds the same? (that's tough!)

Sleepless Night

There
was an old Iranian who was intensely proud of two things – his long, white
beard that reached down to his chest, and his ability to sleep the moment his
head touched the pillow.

One
day, his 3-year-old grandson asked him how he arranged his beard when he slept:
did it go under the blanket or did it remain above it?

The
old man had never paid attention to this detail, and he confessed he didn’t
remember whether his beard remained above or went under the blanket. He
promised to find out.

It
was very cold that night. The old man got into bed and pulled the blanket over
himself. Then he suddenly remembered his grandson’s question.

He
became acutely conscious that his beard was under the blanket. He lifted it
from under the blanket, and placed it above it. This made him feel that
something was not quite right. So he tucked the beard under the blanket again.
But he soon felt it would be better if it were out. In and out went the beard;
first under the blanket, then above it, then under once again. The old man
spent a sleepless night.

The
next morning the first thing he did was cut his beard to chin level, to the
great joy of his daughter who, for several months, had been urging him to do
just that.